AFL Yarra Ranges moves grand final to a Friday

WHILE Victorians will be enjoying a public holiday for the AFL grand final eve this year, in the Yarra Valley all eyes will be on the local footy ground for a first-ever Friday grand final.

Date change: Olinda Ferny Creek won the AFL Yarra Ranges Senior Football Division 1 premiership last year, defeating Woori Yallock. This year the grand final will be played on the AFL Grand Final public holiday. Picture: Robyn Kuys

WHILE Victorians will be enjoying a public holiday for the AFL grand final eve this year, in the Yarra Valley all eyes will be on the local footy ground for a first-ever Friday grand final.

The AFL Yarra Ranges Senior Football Division 1 grand final will be played on Friday, September 28.

AFL Yarra Ranges general manager Aaron Bailey said moving the grand final to a Friday was “an opportunity to promote our competition”.

“The previous three or four years we’ve been up against some other major competitions grand final-wise, and last year we had Richmond playing at 4pm in the (AFL) prelim final,” Mr Bailey said.

“We want to try something new. We think it is a great way for us to promote our league, and also from a financial perspective we think it might be able to generate more people to come to our game.”

Last year’s senior football grand finalists are among those to support the move.

Olinda Ferny Creek club president Ian Taylor said it was a “fantastic idea”, while Woori Yallock president Robert Thomp-son said he was “all for it”.

The Division 1 preliminary final will be played on Saturday September 22.

The move means the Goulburn Valley League will not be the final country grand final for the year. Goulburn Valley League traditionally held its grand final the day after the AFL grand final, making it the last l match of the season.

Since the AFL introduced its end-of-the-season bye in 2016, the Goulburn Valley’s grand final has been on the Sunday of the AFL’s preliminary final weekend, and until now remained country football’s last grand final.